Match Report : 21/02/2016

21 February 2016

It was a lively start to Palace's Emirates FA Cup fifth round clash away to Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides going for it from the off in front of a noisy crowd at White Hart Lane.

The relentless noise coming from the Palace fans behind Wayne Hennessey's goal seemed to drive the Eagles on throughout the opening ten minutes, with the visitors winning several corners early on and causing Mauricio Pochettino's side problems.

Palace's best chance of those opening exchanges didn't actually involve a player in red and blue, however, as Spurs right back Kyle Walker looped a header over his own goalkeeper. But Michel Vorm reacted quickly to race back and palm the ball behind for a corner to Palace.

The game remained open for much of the first half, with both sides getting forward and having chances. Heung-min Son was denied by a last ditch tackle from Damien Delaney in the Palace box, which Dele Alli then followed up, beating Hennessey with a low drive. However the midfielder's sidefooted effort clips the far post, rolled across the line and hit the other before Joel Ward thumped it clear.

The let off aside, Palace looked dangerous going forward, with Jordon Mutch and Connor Wickham combining well on the counter in the 35th minute, but Adebayor's shot was blocked at the end of it.

A minute into added time the Eagles got the break they were looking for. Wilfried Zaha found Martin Kelly in space, the right-back took a touch and crashed an effort between Vorm and the near post to give Palace the lead going into the break.

The second period carried on in the same vein, with both sides getting stuck in and both sets of fans urging their team on. Spurs enjoyed a succession of corners, but Palace looking dangerous on the counter, particularly Zaha, who was looking to break forward whenever the Eagles regained the ball.

Palace stood firm whenever Spurs threatened and the Eagles' attack worked tirelessly to carve out chances on the break.

Yannick Boalsie was welcomed back from over two months on the sidelines with 15 minutes to go. The winger replaced Adebayor on 75 minutes as the away fans sang their appreciation for both the returning number 10 and the former Spurs forward who had worked tirelessly for his time on the pitch.

The Eagles' number 10 looked to have settled things with three minutes to go, exploding down the right he fizzed a ball towards the back post and it was blasted home by Connor Wickham, only for the striker to be flagged offside. Ultimately it didn't matter, as Palace saw the game out and advanced to the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 21 years.